Josh and Nathalie

Yep - it's mutilated (even by a small amount).

You will have to get it replaced.

Bummer....thanks for the info.

Our dog managed to get hold of my wife’s green card and put two teeth marks (not holes, but the plastic is streched) in the middle of it. grrr. Has anyone ever run into any issues with a damaged green card before? Do we need to get it replaced? We will be going to CR sometime this year, and I don't want to have any issues getting her back into the country.

I see on the USCIS site that you are required to get a new card if your previous card was lost, stolen, mutilated, or destroyed. Not sure if this falls under mutilated or destroyed.

Thanks for any help.

My husband and I are just beginning the process and gathering information for formI-130. He is in Costa Rica and I just returned to the US to begin the process. At this point I am only confused on the address format the US requires on the form. Costa Rica address format is very informal, which is probably why mail is impossible. Addresses being a distance from a land mark, such as; 50 meters N of Rubi's Super, Orange House.

Is this how we should write an address on the file?

He has lived and worked in VERY remote areas, that just plain Do Not have addresses...

How do we list those?

Thanks for the advice!

Yes, put the best address that you have for him. They don't mail anything to the person anyways. When the papers come in for him later in the process, they will call him and have him come pick them up.

My wife and I are having a friendly discussion about an immigration question and I figured this would be the best place to get an answer.

She has a friend she met here in the US that came over from Costa Rica a year ago on a tourist visa along with her husband and two children. From the information my wife has gathered (she hasn't asked too many specific questions because she didn't want to pry into something that isn't our concern), but they came here a year ago already married, all of them are from Costa Rica, they came over on a tourist visa and never intended to go back, they both work here and the kids are in school.

Supposedly, she's paid $7000 so far to someone to try and change her status so she can stay in the US with her family. My wife hasn't found out who she is paying to help fix this problem, but I assume it's some lawyer.

Now, my question is this...is there really anything this woman could be doing to legally adjust her status, along with the rest of her family to stay in the US and not go back to Costa Rica? I was under the impression and I've been arguing that there isn't really anything that can be done and that anyone she is giving money to is full of sh#t and just taking her money. She came to the country and committed visa fraud. Isn't that punishable by deportation and a 10 year ban on re-entry or something? At the very least...doesn't she need to leave the country and then try to come back in legally?

Again, this doesn't really have anything to do with my wife and I....just something we've been bantering back and forth about today.

thanks!

APROVED!!! yay evebody!!!! just stoped by to say the interview was greast and quicky I amw aiting my passport should be here in 3 business day!!!!

Ana

Congrats!

One more week here with my love, I think I`m semi-ready to go back home, but definitely definitely not ready to leave him!!! You all know how that is...

Take care everyone!

Caity

Yeah, I know how that is. Enjoy the rest of your trip and have a safe trip home.

Josh- That is just way too cool. I can't believe it! Sept 1!!! WOW super fast.... Holy #######! i Think Jorge will be here late sept possibly the first week of oct. AT THE LATEST. YOU ARE SOOOOOOOOOOO LUcky!!!!! Good for you

Rock- After NOA2 is sent off from CSC/VSC the petition will get sent to National Visa Center, which is in New Hampshire. You can read this: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...amp;page=k1flow

Very helpful

I am so glad you have your place already, Josh. I am so excited to move out of my dads house. I think we will have to stay here for a couple of weeks.... I wonder how that will work out *SIGH* I am ready to do this!

I am so happy to know that everybody seems to keep moving along!!! The clock keeps ticking, and Freakin' august is just about gone!

B)

We'll see what happens. If she gets approved at interview and gets the visa next week..then yes, it looks like september 1st.

I'm kinda anxious to get out of my parents house too. I don't like living alone, so I'll stay here until Nathalie gets here.

Hey everyone. Hope you all are having a great week. Sorry I haven't been around much...I keep starting to write something..then I end up watching the Olympics and forgetting to post.

Last Friday I signed the lease on our apartment. So we have a place to live whenever Nathalie gets here. Right now it’s completely empty. I was planning on buying the bed before she got here...but she says it’s a "big decision" and she should help me with this. I guess it’s a girl thing. To me...a bed is a bed.

I mailed off all of the packet 3 forms and evidence and stuff to Nathalie on Monday. UPS says it should arrive today. I guess now we just play the waiting game until her interview next Tuesday at 12pm.

Oh..I also purchased plane tickets for us for September 1st...so hopefully she gets approved and gets the visa next week...otherwise, I guess I will need to reschedule.

I'm really nervous about next week. I'm pretty confident the interview will go okay...I am just worried about if we will get the visa in time. *crossing fingers*

Congratulations Jeroen! So sorry to hear you had all that hassle but it's all over now! :dance:

I was approved! Well, pending medical results, of course. I'll know for definite Monday but I'm pretty sure my medical results will be clear.

Medical was fine. There was only one other person there, very quiet, doctors very friendly.

Interview was also fine! I'll do a full report later. First woman who took all my forms was rather severe and serious, but the man who actually interviewed me was all charm. He turned out to be from San Jose originally, so he was sympathetic to me from the start!

He asked me:

Does he have any children? (This was first!)

How did you meet?

How many times have I been to San Jose?

Has Alex visited my family?

Have I been to Santa Cruz? (Okay, that wasn't really an interview question! )

What does Alex do for a living?

How long has he been working there?

Where does he live? (I gave his new address which they don't have yet but he didn't pick up on it, so I think this was a more casual question.)

How many brothers and sisters does he have?

What is the age difference between Alex and his brother and his sister?

What did I plan to do once I was in the US other than marry Alex?

Did I realise San Jose was really boring?

That was pretty much it!

Congrats to both of you!!

Congrats!

Well, we have our interview scheduled for Tuesday, August 26th at 12pm. That's cutting it close. Hopefully she can get the visa later that week. Other couples coming from Costa Rica seem to have been able to get them a couple days after the interview....soooo...we'll see what happens. Normally, I'd wait a week, but I'd really like to take advantage of that extra day off for labor day.

Any updates on the apartment?

Well, we have our interview scheduled for Tuesday, August 26th at 12pm. That's cutting it close. Hopefully she can get the visa later that week. Other couples coming from Costa Rica seem to have been able to get them a couple days after the interview....soooo...we'll see what happens. Normally, I'd wait a week, but I'd really like to take advantage of that extra day off for labor day.

Nathalie and I are still working on scheduling the interview...kinda frustrated about that since we are kinda on a time crunch...but...I do have some news to report. I got a call from the apartment place today and we got the apartment. So I'm kinda happy about that. I guess my credit was good enough so I only need to put down $200 for a security deposit. I sign all the paperwork this friday and I'm allowed to move in on Saturday.

Maria - good luck on your apartment!!

Nich-O MY GOSH!! How exciting about you guys!!! I can't wait until we get together again. I miss my boo. I know huh - i used to go in that forum before, but you guys were all VSC filers, which is why I made this one up because it made me sad knowing you guys were so much faster than CSC. I didn't realize that there was such a difference, and really there is. You guys are ahead of the game! It does seem that they have kind of tied on processing times, though. THey caught up to each other huh.

I found an apartment you guys!! I might have anyways. i am going to look at it tomorrow on my lunch break. It is very cute on the outside, i hope so on the inside. They have a pool and a gymnasium and huge balcony, two rooms, 1 1/2 bathrooms, dining room, living room, AND the most important thing======== they have full size laundry! I dislike sharing laundry...it's gross to me!

I will try to take pictures tomorrow and post them on here so you can see them. It is 750 a month with 500 deposit. I keep asking jorge if its too much but it's not "that" bad. It's kind of expensive but really the location is perfect... and all the comodities it comes with. Jorge will be working right away. we have a job lined up for him until he can legally work in the US. He is going to be doing construction and receive paychecks in cash. I guess it's "under the table" but i think it is very helpful, especially when we need it. It's only temporary.

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited! I hope to be able to move in Sept 1 or so. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

I also posted this on the Juarez Embassy forum, but i want your opinions as well. I do NOT want to send my Birth Certificate through mail. SOO can i do this?---- my supervisor is a notary, remember i work at a bank....... so she's a notary. Can she "notarize" a VERY GOOD QUALITY copy of my birth certifcate and have Jorge use that? Would that be considered a certified COPY of my birth certificate? Does that make sense? Should i also do that for my Passport?

I hope everybody has had a wonderful weekend. i am going to visit my cousin Roy. He lives in Virginia and is here to visit for a week! I haven't seen him since i was 9!! I'm excited to see him!! He has his baby girl here too!!

Bye you guys!!

Congrats on the apartment find! I actually just went to checkout an apartment today and put in an application for it. I was hoping to get a two bedroom apartment, but the place didn't have any until the middle of September and I kinda need one soon if Nathalie is gonna be here end of the month. So I settled on a 1 bedroom. It's not super big...but it will be fine for a year until we get everything situated here. If all goes well...my move in date will be next Saturday.

I ordered a certified copy of my birth certificate a couple weeks ago...so I can send that original to Nathalie. I will also send copies of my real birth certificate...not sure it really matters though.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. Nathalie had her medical yesterday and everything went fine. She will be scheduling her interview on Monday morning and hopefully get a date for the following week. I got the I-134 notarized this morning. I'll be printing up all our paperwork and putting all evidence and such in a binder and sending it to her on Monday. So much to do...so little time.

Hello ,\

We have Visa no problems .. Just an exhusting trip ..

Thanks God !!Read my review of my experence at Embassy if you are interested ..

Congrats!

Nathalie got a call yesterday from the Embassy yesterday getting her police certificate. She called them back today...they needed to verify some information (parents, her name, birthday, etc). They said she can pick up packet 3 next week on Wednesday or Thursday. She is going for her blood tests and xray today. I believe she has an appointment on Friday for her medical.

I *might* have her call the Embassy tomorrow and see if she can schedule the interview without having the packet...since we'll pretty much have everything ready to go next week, I think.

Hmm... so I tried the DHL thing because the NVC told me that my petition was sent off today. However, it seems that the only package that was sent off today was to Guatemala. Could this just mean that no one has actually picked up my package to send yet? Or that it will actually go out tomorrow??? Anyone have any ideas? Or maybe I should not even bother with the DHL thing.....

I put in EXP 01 AUG 2008A as the reference and it showed a bunch of paperwork going to Mexico that got actually shipped there today. It's possible your paperwork got sent out in that batch. This whole tracking deal is hit and miss. If not, try the 4th date tomorrow and see if anything ships to Mexico from today.

That sucks that Nathalie is getting the run around like that =( Hopefully she'll get some answers today. Sounds like things are moving REALLY fast, that is so awesome that she could be with you by the end of the month YAY

She did get answers today. The embassy did get the paperwork from NVC...but packet 3 won't be ready for pickup until next week.

Fair enough...I'll still have her try to schedule (and complete) the medical stuff this week and see if maybe she can schedule the interview next week when she picks up packet 3.

Hey Josh and Natalie- I hope that she can get her medical stuff done soon. Do you know how long of a wait it usually is in Costa Rica to get an interview appointment? Good luck!

From what I've seen, it doesn't appear to be very long at all. It seems if you have everything in order, you can schedule it.

So, I have some questions on the I-134...

Part of question 7 asks my annual income. Do I put the amount that was on my 2007 tax return?. I'm going to make more this year, I hate to put that number there, but of course I don't know what I made this year until next tax time

And question 11 really throws me off. If I mark "intend" I have to put down some sort of exact dollar amount that I'm going to give David?...that seems really odd. And if I mark "I do not intend" do I have to include an explaination as to why not? What did you all mark this question as?

Thanks everyone!

Amy David

For question #7, I'm putting exactly what my employer said I make annually in the employer letter. I make more with OT and stuff...but I figured I'll just match what my employer put down.

For 11, I left it unchecked and put in "N/A ( K1 visa process for permanent residence )" as it did in the example.

That sucks that Nathalie is getting the run around like that =( Hopefully she'll get some answers today. Sounds like things are moving REALLY fast, that is so awesome that she could be with you by the end of the month YAY

She did get answers today. The embassy did get the paperwork from NVC...but packet 3 won't be ready for pickup until next week.

Fair enough...I'll still have her try to schedule (and complete) the medical stuff this week and see if maybe she can schedule the interview next week when she picks up packet 3.

Sunny I hope things will go very smooth after the RFE. With all these things you are sending them, there should not be any more problems.

Damian, we live in south St. Louis. There seems to be several people from this area on visa journey!

So, I've been in the USA for 4 days now, it is VERY hot right now, I knew it was hot but I had forgotten it would be that bad I'll get used to it. the good thing is I don't need to blow my hair after the shower: two minutes outside and it's done!

I have been exhausted the entire weekend from the jet lag. I have opened a bank account at NationalCity, they only needed my passport and another ID (I showed them my French driver license). No SSN needed. Now I'm waiting for my bank in France to set the wire transfers via the Internet.

It is nice to be here again, and together. I have met some new people and some old ones too, so nice to see them again I feel quite overwhelmed by the many things I will have to learn (all the conversion things, getting used to new products at the grocery stores, driving, etc.) but as long as I do all this step by step it should be ok.

Today is my first day completely alone, Bryan went back to work this morning. And when he comes back, we will go to a restaurant because today is my birthday we can finally celebrate together.

We will probably get married by the end of August.

Happy Birthday!

Good morning everyone. Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a great weekend. Haven't been posting that much, figured I'd update on what's been going on.

Well...Nathalie never got any calls from the embassy to tell her that our paperwork is there, so we've been trying to call them. Not sure what they are doing....but last week she called in the afternoon...and they told her she needs to talk to someone between 9am-11am. So she called the next day and they said to call back between 1pm-3pm and when she called them..they told her to talk to someone between 9am-11am. She is going to call again today and I told her not to take any ####### from them.

Last Friday she went to the doctors and got, I think, the last of her vaccinations. She got the HPV (HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS) shot also and she said it hurt sooooo bad.

She already got her single certificate and is going back today to get the police certificate.

Hopefully, she'll be able to pickup packet 3 today at the embassy and it'll have more instructions on how to schedule the medical stuff and interviews. It would be awesome if she could get the medical stuff finished up this week and then have the interview next week. Then I can finalize plans for going out there at the end of the month and help her travel back home.

So much to do...so little time.

Hey All, I just got off the phone with a nice lady from the NVC, our petition was received today The first time I call, and it's there, good thing, because calling every day from Mexico could start to be expensive! hehe. Ok, so I have our new case number... but what do I do with that??? haha. Thanks!

Caity

You can use that case number if you ever call NVC again to see if they have shipped the petition to the embassy. I think you can also call the embassy to see if they have received the petition.

When did she say they would ship it out? The guy i spoke with said 1-2 weeks Is that correct?

Typically, I think it ships out pretty close to the day they receive it. Mine shipped out the day after they got it.

I got my NVC hard copies in the mail yesterday...two of them for some odd reason.